Hillmans 12/29/12

[BuckSutherland]

Anyone see a newer red truck driving around doing burnouts, etc on the ice? I was fishing outside and watched the guy stumble from house to house and then drive away roostertailing snow everywhere and doing spin outs. I watched him get up to about 50 on the main road and then lock them up so he could spin out. I hope he got a visit to the crowbar motel.

[bturck]

Takes all kinds to make the world go round doesn't it. Some people just never grow up. To bad Kelly, Jonny or Buddy weren't in the area, would have been interesting

[TwinkeeDink]

Well, well, well. This is precisely the post I was looking for upon our return home after an awesome fishing trip.

Just so happens one of the vehicles our party drove on our excursion fits the "general" description of said silly-me. However, we were NOT the ones ripping it up out there, but WERE rudely accused as the culprit by one of your listed "sheriffs" who happened to be in the area. Have your story straight before you go spouting off with accusations, please, serves the wrong message.

[kelly-p]

Quote:

newer red truck

Well that rules me out. I don't drive anything that could be considered "newer".

[Random guy]

I do. 77 Fords are still considered new, right? Only spin out tracks I seen was Kelly trying to make his driveway with his 8 ball hard tires.

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

Good One!!! HeHeHe!!!

[birdswacker]

1977 probably has the 8-ball dice hangin on the mirror still to.

[kelly-p]

No 8 ball dice but the windshield and mirror are about the only things not rusted out. Have to be nice to that old truck tho. It first hit the lake with a V-Plow in 1986. The times it has seen and stories it could tell.

As far as my tires,, well they don't grip ice very good but for $2800 I got a pretty good vehicle that even has a heater that works.

[leech~~]

It must have been one of those new E85 trucks, or the driver was running on pure ethanol! I've seen a few "Superman" at the Eelpout try and jump heaves at night! Funny how the next morning they don't seem to have the same power when riding out with the tow driver!

[kelly-p]

One of the most comical and thankfully not really harmful heave jumping stories was back during the "crappie boom". Buddy Hillman is all dressed up in a suit for something he was going to. There is a strong wind blowing with a lot of drifting and he feels that he really should drag his road quick to keep some of the drifts from getting too big. Seeing as all of his trucks happen to be broke down he jumps in his brothers truck, hooks up to the drag and away he goes. There he is tearing down his road all dressed up driving his brothers truck dragging his road down smooth. Everything was going pretty good but in the whiteout he lost track of how many miles he had gone. He realized that when he slammed into the pressure ridge at the end of the road. The truck only sank partway down and Buddy didn't get very wet getting out but his cel phone was back on shore. There he was trudging down the road in a whiteout wearing his now somewhat rumpled "Sunday morning/going to a meeting" clothes trying to figure out how he was going to explain all of this to his brother.

So if any of you went out Hillman's road during the "crappie boom" and saw a blue and silver Ford nose down in a pressure ridge now you know how it got there.

[steeplechaser2]

Not sure what the whole story is here, but the "sheriffs" in this case do own the road and make the road and bail your butt out of trouble when the wind kicks up and you can't see five feet in front of your face. A few years ago, we were out on the ice when a white out occured...no way we were getting off the ice without help....Kelly and Jonny appeared out of nowhere and lead about ten vehicles back to shore.....I've also been out and said "Look at that son of gun, he's lost"....then realized that I was the one on the wrong road and lost! Respect the roads and those who will keep you outta trouble. Just my two cents worth.

[TwinkeeDink]

Here's my two cents. I was part of a group that didn't use any sheriff roads, but were rudely and disrespectfully approached by one of them while in our vehicle, searching for new ice on Fri, after being on the water since Wed. Anger is understood when dealing with immature behaviors, just have all ducks in a row before pointing fingers, that's all

[Whopper Stopper]

Gee you sound like you should drop the Twinkee part and just go with GrumpyDink.

Just my two cents.

WS

[shaky legs2]

We were up there shortly after it happened and remember the cones marking the area. A few laters didn't Patsy witness him popping out of a hole like a seal or was that the same one?

[TwinkeeDink]

WS, fairly certain you'd be a bit perturbed too. Getting accused is one thing, it's the way it went down that's upsetting to me.

[BuckSutherland]

WS, fairly certain you'd be a bit perturbed too. Getting accused is one thing, it's the way it went down that's upsetting to me.

And if you were the road operator and saw what I saw you would be really upset too. The guy was a menace to the lake. I am sure that someone talked to buddy or someone or called in and told them about it. So Buddy or someone tried to get control of the situation. I only have a vauge description of what I saw so I am assuming thats what someone else gave too. It is unfortunate if you were wrongly accused, but you have to understand what someone else's stupidity can mean for your ice road/livelihood. Go read the Cyrus report for LOW. Some donks racing all over and now they magically have an 18" crack and the road is closed.

[TwinkeeDink]

Totally understand your point Buck

[kelly-p]

The most important thing people working on the lake do is keep everyone as safe a posible. Trying to keep people from driving over unsafe ice is is one of the things they do. Even if the first or second or third vehicle makes it without going through each vehicle passing over that place makes it more dangerous. People see the tire tracks and figure that it is safe there so they follow those tracks where the first person should never have driven a vehicle.

Last week Buddy noticed that the area where the two pressure ridges crossed between HIllman's and Beacon's was all cracked up from the stress of the ridges. Buddy felt that it was a place that people should not be driving. Buddy has sunk a lot vehiles in his life so he know as good as anyone. I went and looked at it and agreed with him. Both Hillman's and Beacon's told the people getting road passes not to try cross the ridges. But yet 2 wheelhouses decided that the people working on the lake did didn't know what they were talking about so they drove right through that place. They pulled wheelhouses right over a place that Buddy didn't dare drive his pickup. Leaving tracks that someone else might follow. Maybe a vehicle with a bunch of little kids.

What is it about pressure ridges that some people do not respect or fear?

When I talked to Dean at Beacon's today he was putting up new road markers. You know what they are. The stakes with reflectors or ribbons put along the roads so people don't get lost in a whiteout. Dean was putting up new ones because someone decided that it would be "cool" to go down the road running the markers over. Why? Why do things to put other peoples lives in danger?

[BuckSutherland]

Kelly,

We fished real close to the pressure ridge when we were up there, but never tried to cross it and where careful where we set up. We saw a bunch of cracked up ice on both sides of the pressure ridge and it didnt look good in several spot.

I believe we saw 4 different rigs cross it. One of them was a 3/4 ton dodge pulling a wheelhouse with kids in the truck. Another guy did 5 doughnuts before getting enough courage and hitting it at about 30 sending water all over in my wheelhouse. Couple others crossed in places that didnt look so questionable, but I still wouldnt do it.

One thing they had in common was none of them got out and looked they just drove, and they all were real lucky. We thought for sure we were going to be part of a rescue more than once, but glad we werent.

[Boker001]

I understand you guys are looking out for peoples safety. I drill and check the ice frequently on unknown ice.

If you want to the whole story heres how it reads:

Dean said he knew it was safe out until the heave. He never said not to cross it but he did say that he didn't know of a safe place to cross it.

I set up first on the road side of the heave. The next day I went for a drive to check out the heave. Did some test drilling and did find some spots in the center of the heave that was 8" in a spot where the heave separated from the main ice 12" or so.

Once I came across the spot I eventually crossed, it already had tracks wider than mine (full size truck maybe) going across. It was a smooth 1" crack not broken heaved ice. I looked it over very well before I crossed. I idled through and the crack never moved. I followed the tracks for a ways until I saw they headed straight for a group of houses to the west of the crappie cribs. I later figured out who owned those.

Hard to believe the guy that flew up on us to yell at us about safe ice, crossed a multitude of fresh cracks and a different heave I didn't even want to cross to get to us.